A WOMAN and a teenager have been warned they face custodial sentences after being convicted of inflicting injuries on an IT worker who failed to pay his share of a taxi fare.

A WOMAN and a teenager have been warned they face custodial sentences after being convicted of inflicting injuries on an IT worker who failed to pay his share of a taxi fare.

Webpage designer Andrew Holmes suffered a torn eye lid, broken nose and face bruising and cuts when he was set on in the Cheshire village of Lostock Gralam last March.

At Knutsford Crown Court, 39-year-old Deborah Rea-Taylor, her son, James, 19, both of London Road, Lostock Gralam, together with the 17-year-old the court ordered should not be identified, all denied inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Holmes. They also denied a charge of causing him actual bodily harm.

Rea-Taylor and the 17-year-old were convicted by the jury of inflicting grievous bodily harm. Mr Rea-Taylor was acquitted.

Mr Holmes, who admitted he was drunk, told the jury he had hitched a lift in a taxi with Rea-Taylor and her party from the Witton Chimes public house in Northwich.

Mr Holmes said he was set on when he found he did not have his £3 share of the taxi fare for the two mile journey. He told the jury how he went to offer his business card to the taxi driver with a promise to let her have the money.

But before he could, one of the party got out of the taxi and punched him in the face breaking his nose. He then alleged the other two set about him kicking him to the face and head and stamping on him.

Police found footprints on his body where he had been stamped on.

Rea-Taylor, who works part time as a taxi driver, denied anyone in her party had attacked Mr Holmes. She said she went to help him when he fell over and his injuries were caused when he fell a second time.

Remanding the two on bail for sentence, Recorder Yvonne Coppel warned that anyone, especially witnesses in the case, should not approach them.

The recorder said she was asking for social inquiry reports on them because she was considering a custodial sentence. They will be sentenced on October 10 at a court to be decided.